The Sun. — London, England, 1864-04-30 00:00:00

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT HOUSE OP LORDS—Last Evening. The LORD CHANCELLOR, took his seat on the woolsack at five o'clock. PRIVATE BILLS. The following bills were read a second time :—Weston super-Mare Pier, Salisbury Gas, Salisbury Railway and Market House, and West Riding and Grimsby Railway, The following bills were read a third time and passed : West London Dock and Warehouses, with an amendment —Railway Passengers Assurance Company—and Dublin and Meath Railway (Amendments). POLAND. The Earl of DERBY said the noble lord who had just taken his seat (Lord Stratheden) had a motion on the paper with respect to Poland, the frequent postponement of which had occasioned considerable inconvenience. It stood now for Monday next, and he should like to know whether he intended to proceed with it on that day, or whether it was again to be postponed. Lord STRATHE DEN said he was only anxious that the subject which stood for discussion in another place should be considered there before it was taken up by their lordships. THE SEIZURE OF THE STEAM RAMS. The Earl of DERBY rose to call attention to the pub lished correspondence between her Majesty's Government and Mr. Laird as to the steam rams. His lordship, it would be recollected, some time ago, asked the noble earl, the Secre tary for Foreign Affairs, for certain copies of correspondence relative to this subject, but that was refused on public grounds. Shortly afterwards a motion was made for the production of the papers in the other house, which were produced. In reviewing the circumstances under which the correspondence had arisen, he characterised the conduct of the Messrs. Laird as everything that was commendable, seeing that they had withheld nothing from her Majesty's Government, while the conduct of the Government, on the other hand, he considered highly censurable, seeing it had been most unfair, ungenerous, and he feared illegal. The noble earl the Secretary for Foreign Affairs first received information from the American Consul at Liverpool respecting the rams on the 7th of August. From that time to the Ist Sept. the noble earl seemed to have been weighing the facts to see if he could find any evidence to justify the detention of the rams. Pressing letters had iu the meantime been sent by the representatives of the American Government, and on Sept. 3 the noble earl was informed that one of the rams was almost ready to proceed to sea. He seemed to have made up his mind that the rams should be stopped, and they were seized on the sth of September, and no information to that effect was furnished to Messrs. Laird until the 9th. He thought those gentlemen had been badly treated in the matter, be cause they had done everything in the most open and un disguised manner. Before that time, however, a message it appeared had bees sent to the United States, previously informing the Government that the rams had been stopped, After this a correspondence ensued between the Messrs. Laird and the Government, relative to the persons fur whom the two ironclads were being con stricted, in the course of which the Messrs. Laird said it was unusual to furnish the names of parties ror whom ships were being built, but, notwithstanding that, they at once informed the Government that M. Brave, of Paris, was the person for whom the vessels were constructed, and accordingly a Government agent was at once de spatched to that gentleman in Paris, when he, with out the slightest reserve, showed that person everything connected with the iron -clads, and he returned to London and reported to the Government that he had concluded his inquiry, and that all the matters connected with the owner ship of the two vessels was satisfactory. Indeed, her Ma jesty's Government w ere themselves so far convinced of this, that in the latter part of the same month they treated with Messrs. Brave for the purchase of the rams. (Hear, hear.) However, to go back to the dealings between the Government and Messrs. Laird, on the 11th these gentle. men asked permission to take one of the vessels on a trial trip, prornieing that she should return to the float at Bir kenhead. On the 17th this permission was granted; but on the 14th Messrs. Laird had received an intimation that the rams were rot to leave Liverpool until the Government was satisfied with regard to their destination. That mea sure, he contended, was perfectly illegal. If the Govern ment had evidence to justify a seizure they had a perfect right to make one. But they load no right to detain these rams f, r au indefinite period on no definite charge, ant, in stead of proving the guilt, to call upon the builders to prove the innocence of their intended destination. Before the trial trip could take plaice the Secretary of the Treasury, on Sept. 19, wrote to say that they could not allow it unless provi slon was mode against a sudden seizure, which they heard was in contemplation. Who was to seize her ? The men on board ? But they were Mr. Laird's own men. Some vessel lying at the mouth of the Mersey ? But at that very time the whole Channel fleet was lying off Liverpool, and a more unlikely time for such an enterprise could not be conceived. (Hear, hear ) However, on Sept. Zl, Messrs. Laird thanted the Government for the protection which they had promised to afford them, although they said they were unaware of the danger which was apprehended. At the same time they stated that the trial trip would be de feared in consequence of the crowded state of the river But the permission to make the trip was certainly in force until the 24th September, because on that day the Foreign Secretary referred to in a letter to Mr. Adams. On the t - th of October, however, the Foreign Secre tary wrote to say that it had been necessary to take additional precautions against her seizure. A body uf marines had been previously placed on board, and these "additional precautions" consisted in adding to them some cuatenn house cfficere. (Laughter.) However, Messrs, Laird made no objection to this additional protection which was thus afforded against a danger which consisted in this, that some band of men should force the gates of the dock in which she was lying, should overpower the marines and the police, and should carry off a vessel only partially fit fur sea from the middle of the port of Liverpool. (Hear, hear.) On the 9th October the Government—not satisfied with what they had done—wrote to say that they had ordered the seizure of both the rams; and in this letter they again referred to the danger of the forcible abduction of one or both these vessels. Messrs. Laird, in reply, expressed their entire disbelief in the possibility of carrying out any such plan of abduction in the port of Liverpool; and stated that they hoped the Government would soon see the propriety of removing the vexatious restrictions which had been placed on their property. At this very time one of the vessels was in Messrs. Laird's private dock, the entrance to which was blocked up by a caisson, and which a ship could only enter or leave for about an hour near high water. It was absurd to suppose that there could be any danger of a vessel in such a position being carried off by violence. (Hear.) It appeared frcm other correspondence that the danger of whim her Majesty's Government were apprehensive when they took such extraordinary measures for the protection of the rams, was the arrival in Liverpool of some seventy men belonging to the Confederate ship Florida. They appa rently feared that these men would endeavour to seize the rams; nor could there be any doubt that they were sincere in the apprehensions they expressed, because, when the Channel fleet left Liverpool, they not only ordered the Majestic and the Liverpool to remain behind, but they sent the ironclad Royal Consort round from Plymouth in a half-finished state, so that she nearly foundered in the Irish Channel, and certainly never reached Liverpool. And now as to these seventy men from the crew of the Florida. They came not in an organised body; they were not even in the Confederate service; on the contrary, the) had been dis charged at Brest, and they came to Liverpool to obtain pay ment of their wages. Having been refused by a firm to whom they applied, they sought the assistance of whom ? Of the United States consul ; and this consul took up their case, and his attorney brought an action on their behalf against a firm on which he considered they had a claim. The latter at first disputed their liability, but, after some communications with France, they consented to pay. The men were paid on the 13th of October, and then these men, who were supposed to be meditating this desperate enterprise on behalf of the Confederate Government, dispersed in vari ous directions, declaring emphatically that they would never re-enter the Confederate service, in which they had been so scurvily treated. And these were the men who had thrown the Government ofl their balance, and caused them to take precautions against datigers which never existed in the slightest degree. (Hear, hear.) On the 27th Messrs. Laird were told that the vessels had been seized, on account of a violation of the Foreign Enlistment Act, that their men mutt leave them, and that they would be towed out into the tideway of the Mersey. He must say that the latter was the most extraordinary step ever taken for the protection o fyea sela Which it was supposed were in danger of b e i ng seized—to take them from closed docks into an open tide way. Messrs, Laird protested against this measure, on the ground °t the d anger to their property; b ut t h e Govern ment insisted, and with some difficulty, atter some delay, the vessels 7ere towed out into the Mersey, On the 29th, Messrs. Laird slain wrote to the Admiralty, the Foreign Office, and the Treasury, protesting against the whole of these proceedings , and Stat i ng that they held the Govern ment responsible for th e large pecuniary loss arising f ro m these arbitrary proceedings. proceedings. T he Admir a l t y forwarded the letter which they had receiv e d to th e For e i gn Office forwarded both lette rs Office, and the I' to the Treasury, which took no steps wkatever. The noble earl then referred to SonlC subsequent correspondence be tween Messrs. Laird and the Gev erntnent with respect to the insurance of the mine, and stated that, on January 12, Messrs. Laird propcsed that the vessels should be removed into the Birkenhead Docks, and there retained by the Go y stated th a t th e y vernment under an armed guar d. Th e asked this in order that they m i g ht be en a b led to complete their contract; and it certainly showed their consciousness of their own innocence when they were found willing to add considerably to the number of v essels w hich would be liable to seizure if an illegal destination was proved against them. But this most reasonable proposal was also refused by the Government, and refused without any reasons being given. Nor was it until the Bth of February that Messrs. Laird, in reply to their repeated questions when the case was likely to be tried, were informed that an information would be filed in a few days, and that it would probably be necessary to send a commission abroad to take avidennii. So that it was then actually proposed to Fend out a commission to take evidence against veaseis which had 'oeen seized four months ago, and had bee illegally de tained a month previously. It was his firm lend that no information would have ever been filed if it had not been that Parliament was meeting on the 4th February, and if Mr. Adams had not in the latter part of January forwarded to Earl Russell the forged despatch of the Confederate Se cretary of the Navy, intimating at the same time the opinion of his Government that this document ought to put an end to any lingering doubt as to the destination of the steam rams in the Mersey. At this document Earl Russell eagerly snatched; he stated to Mr. Adams that he quite appreciated the importance of the admissions it contained; that it showed what the Government were previously aware of, that Con federate agents were studiously endeavouring to violate her Majesty's neutrality; and that the Confederate Government would be informed that such conduct could not be tolerated. But although this clumsy forgery took in her Majesty's Government, all those persons in England who knew any thing of the. Confederate States and their Government saw at once that it was a fabrication. Had it not been for the receipt of this document, he did not believe that any infor mation would ever have been filed, notwithstanding the meeting of Parliament. For not only was the noble earl, but the Atternoy-General also, jubilant at the conclusive proof which they thought they had procured of the vali dity of the charge which they had made against these rams. He could not consent to pass this matter over in the light and frivolous manner is which the noble earl the Foreign Secretary had alluded to it the other night. It was not a trifle that a document should te forged—that it should be transmitted by the Federal Secretary of State to his ambassador in London, and be by him made the founda tion of a remonstrance with her Majesty's Foreign Secre tary. Was Mr. Seward justified in forwarding such a document without having ascertained in the most conclusive manner its authenticity ? He did not charge Mr. Seward with being the author of the document; but it was extra ordinary that it was in the columns of the New York Times, which was under the control of Mr. Seward, that the entire document first appeared. He could easily have satisfied himself as to its character; and he certainly ought not to have used it until he had satisfied himself that it was what it pretended to be. He was certainly disappointed that they had not heard from the noble earl any expression of in dignation against the manner in which he had been imposed upon; nor, so far as he knew, had either Mr. Seward or Mr. Adams apologised for the extreme crednlity, to say the least, which they had displayed, and .which led them to make such unfounded representations to her Majesty's Go vernment: The noble earl concluded by saying that he had not brought this motion forward with any desire that our neutrality should be evaded or infringed ; on the con trary he desired that our laws be fully respected. But, on the other hand, he desired that the Government should not deprive her Majesty's subjects of that protection and that justice whieh they were entitled to by the laws of the coun try. He concluded by moving for the production of the correspondence between the Government and Messrs. Laird. Earl RUSSELL censured the conduct of Earl Derby, in bringing forward a question which would form the subject of a trial within about a month. He contended that the noble earl had made no case of illegal action against the Go vernment. But before proceeding to discuss that, he would ask the house toassent to two propositions. First, that they were desirous to maintain peaceful relations with the United States ; and secondly that the Messrs. Laird had no right to go to war with any Power at peace with England. And yet it was nothing but the vigilance of the Govern ment—their over-vigilance, the noble earl said—which had prevented these " respectable" shipbuilders from involving this country in a war with the United States. After ad verting to one circumstance under which the Foreign En listment Act was passed, and citing its preamble, the noble earl said that there could hardly be a greater crime than to commit acts which endangered the peace and tranquillity of this country, or, in other words, involved us in war with a Power with whom we were previously in relations of amity. The Confederate States, naturally enough, had sent out agents both to England and France, armed with the means of having ships built, in order that expeditions such as the Foreign Enlistment Act prohibited might leave the English and French ports, in order to make war upon the Unit d States, This was clearly proved by the evidence in the case of the Alexandra. But, !Although he did not feel any sur prise that the Confederate States should endeavour by all means to establish their independence, he did feel surprised that British subjects, forgetting their duty to the Crown and the obedience they owed the law, should engage in these undertakings, looking to nothing bu - the means of placing this country at war with the United States. He confessed that he was anxious to deprive the United States of any just cause of war against us, and he thought that he had been amply justified in the steps which he had taken with a view to that object. He was quite satisfied that these vessels were intended for the Confederate States. They were by their build and construction vessels of war, which could be at once employed to destroy any of the United States vessels engaged in blockading the Southern ports. The Govern ment, knowing their capacity for this purpose, thought it their duty to make the fullest inquiry into their intended destination ; fur they knew that Captain Bullock and other Confederate agents in this country had procured ship• builders both in the Mersey and the Clyde to lend them selves to their projects. One of those shipowners had, indeed, been prosecuted by the Lord Advocate, and had sine pleaded guilty. (Hear, hear.) The noble earl had censured him tor having detained these vessels before they were seized; but he was quite ready to take the full re sponsibility of that step, which he believed was requisite for the fulfihneet of our international obligations and for the preservation of peace. If the Home Secretary had heard, on information which he believed, that a treasonable plot was being concocted, he would not hesitate to arrest the supposed conspirators. And he believed that, as Foreign Secretary, he was equally bound to watch over the peace of the country, and to take steps for warding off any danger with which it might be threatened, The noble earl had also censured him for taking steps to prevent this ex pedition from sailing. But if a number of rams had left this country and had broken the blockade of the Southern ports, how would it have been possible to deny that we were making war against the United States under the guise of neutrality, and against the provisions of our own Foreign Enlistment Act ? And who were the Messrs. Laird, that he should be expected to repose implicit confidence in every statement that they might make ? Why, they were the builders of the Alabama. The noble earl then read, from a pamphlet written by a Confederate officer, an account of the fitting out, equipment, and eailing of the Alabama, calling especial attention to the fact that she had left Liverpool under the pretence of a trial trip. And then (said Earl Russell) the noble earl oppcsite spoke for an hour against the illegality and oppressiveness of hie being suspicious of a vessel built by the Messrs, Laird, which was clearly in tended for war, and was able to act with grew:, effect against an enemy, and asked why he did not take the assurance which these gentlemen were ready to offer him. He would not go through the correspondence between the Govern ment and the builders, but he would say that every step he had taken was taken under the advice of an officer on whom he relies!. And he believed that if it had not been for the precautions the Government had taken, the rams would have been taken away, and that they would have been manned, in part at least, by the former crew of the Florida. It might turn out that these vessels were built by M. Brave in order to make war on his own account. But he did nut believe anything of the kind; and at all events he was quite satisfied that lacier the circumstances there was such a case of suspicion as amply justified and, indeed, called upon the Government to detain them. He would not go into the facts which would be adduced on the trial, and which, he believed, would satisfy a a jury of the belligerent destination of these rams. But he would say that, having before him the facts and the information which he had, he would have neglecting his duty if he had not taken steps to prevent any violation of the Foreign Enlistment Act. Ha thought this country was especially bound to observe a strict and faithful neu trality in the war between the United and Confederate Stated. For his own part he had never been able to sym pathise strongly with either party, but it was to be honed that its result would be the emancipation of the 4,000,000 of negroes now held in bondage. But that this should be the case, it must be left to the two contending parties to work out this problem by themselves ; and he should regret if this country were compelled to interfere in the war, and thus, it might be, prevent the realisation of that great an vantage and biasing, which ho trusted Providence had in store tar us, as some compensation for the miseries and !suf ferings of the present struggle. Lord CHELNISFOUD said the noble earl had no right to issue orders fur the detention of the vessels until satis factory evidence had been brought forward to show that their destination was the Confederate States. Her Majesty's Government had committed an illegal act when they ordered the detention of the veesels, and threw upon the accused parties the task of proving their innocence. If there were no evidence that the ships were being equipped and fitted out for the service of a foreign State,the Govern ment ought to havo held their hands until they obtained sufficient evidence to justify the seizure. It was an extra ordinary thing that whenever any act had been done in re bard to the Messrs. Laird there had always been some pre vious letter on the part of the American Minister urging her Majesty's Government to action. In fact, the conduct of the Government towards the Mesas. Laird had been un just, arbitrary, and oppressive throughout. The Duke of ARGYLL expressed astonishment that his noble sad learned friend who had just sat down should have spoken in such strong terms of a matter which was suhitcdiec at the present moment. The conduct of Messrs. Laird had been by no means frank and open as the noble lord who introduced the question assumed; on the con trary, their conduct was not in accordance with their duty as subjects of the Crown, nor with what other persons had considered to be their duty under similar circumstances. There was no nation under the sun which had so much interest as Great Britain in maintaining the obligations of neutrality, and it was quite as much the interest of the mercantile classes as of the Government that the principles of international law should be upheld. In the whole course of these transactions the Government, by doing all they could to stop these vessels, had been performing the most solemn obligation which lay upon them as Ministers of the Crown. Lord DERBY said he had moved for the papers for the purpose of raising a discussion on this important subject. The motion was withdrawn accordingly. HIGH COURT OF BOMBAY BILL. This bill was read a second time, Their lordships then adjourned. HOUSE OF COMMONS---Last Evening. The SPEAKER took the chair at four o'clock. PRIVATE BUSINESS. The following bills were read a third time and passed Hedon and Patrington Road, Newport and (Monmouth shire) Turnpike Trust, and North Eastern Railway (Addi tional Powers). THE SUN, LONDON, SATURDAY EVENING, APRIL 20, 1864. AGRICULTURAL STATISTICS. Mr. CAIRD gave notice that he would call the atten- tion of the house to the subject of agricultural statistics. HER MAJESTY'S DOCKYARDS. Sir J. ELPHINSTONE gave notice that on an early day he would call attention to the expediency of the orders lately issued as to the management and control of her Majesty's dockyards. UNCLAIMED WRECKS. Mr. ROGERS asked the President of the Board of Trade, by what authority the proceeds of unclaimed wreck, to which the right of private owners has been acknowledged by the Crown, have been retained by the receivers since such acknowledgment of claim. Mr. M> GIBSON said that this matter was in dispute, and so long as that was the case, the Board of Trade could only give the wreck to the parties legally entitled to re ceive it. THE CONFERENCE. In reply to Mr. DISRAELI, Sir G. GRE Y said it was not correct that the Conference would not reassemble. They had adjourned, but not sine die, and he was unable to say the day when thoy would meet again. (Hear, hear, and laughter.) SALMON FISHERIES. On the motion for going into cAnmittee of aupply, Mr P. WINDHAM asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if it was the intention of her Majesty's Government to bring in s bill this session to amend the Salmon Fisheries Act (1861) ? He contended that means should be adopted for the preservation of salmon, and that a tax for this purpose should be imposed, or that a fund should be raised by proprietors, instead of leaving the mat ter to voluntary contributions. Mr. T. J. BARING agreed with the hon. member, but the matter was one of intricacy. However, it was under the consideration of Government, but he could not promise that any bill relative to it would be introduced this session. CASE OF Mit, WILLIAM BEWICKE. Mr. H. BERKELEY moved that this house, upon Monday next, resolve itself into a cc mmittee to consider an address to her Majesty, praying that her Majesty would be graciously pleased to direct adequate compensation to be made to Wm. Bewicke, Threepwood Hall, Northumberland, for the pain, degradation, anguish of mind, and consequent ill-health; he has suffered, in being confined for 12 months in a prison as a felon, on a charge since proved to be false; for the confiscation of his gcods,chattels, family pictures, plate, and library, thus inflicting upon him an irreparable injury; also for the heavy pecuniary loss he had suffered in prose cuting and bringing to justice the persons who had con spired against him, such having been the only means by which eventually he was enabled to establish his inno cence ; and that this house is prepared to assure her Majesty that it will make good the same. The hon. member detailed the Principal facts of the case, with which the public are already familiar. Mr. Bewicke went into prison a strong robust man, and came out broken in spirit and constitution. He complained of the terms of the order by which Mr Bewicke was liberated, stating that he was pardoned. If the term parlon must be retained in such orders it should be that the judge and jury should be pardoned for the blunder they had committed. He denounced in the strongest manner the treatment which Mr. Bewicke had received, and said that his legs expenses amounted to between £2,000 and £3,000, while he lost by the forced sale of his furniture no less than £BO pm cent. A mosaic table, which Mr Bewicke procured from Italy, and for which he paid £lOO, was sold for £l7, and a valuable library contain ing the works of Racine and Moller* was sold for the price of waste paper. He concluded by at earnest appeal to the House to redress the grievances of vhich Mr. Bewioke so justly complained. (Cheers.) Sir G. GREY said that he must object to the motion, notwithstanding that it excited hs syrispathy, and he asked the house seriously to consider the question raised by this motion, which involved a mott important principle. Mr. Bewicke bad defended an action against him, and the Sberiff of Northumberland had to etforce the costs of it. He employed his officers, and he (Sir 11. Grey) would make inquiries into the statement of the cha'acter of these men. Ho defended the conduct of the nagiatrates and the judge and jury, who had no other coursethan to convict Mr. Bewicke on evidence which had been adduced on the trial. When a petition was presented to him on behalf of Mr. Bewicke, he adopted the usual course and referred it to the judge who heard the case, and who repeated the statement he made at the trial as to his entire concurrence in the verdict of the jury. With regard to the sale of the furniture, every attempt was made by the Commissioners! of Greenwich Hospital to induce Mr. Bewicke's family to adopt means to prevent the removal of his furniture, but without success, and they had no other course to pursue but to put up the furniture to pub lic sale. lie regretted that Mr. Bewicke should have de fended himself instead of employing counsel, w:ao would have sifted the evidence, and perhaps exposed the character of the witnesses, on whose evidence he was con/icted. If they were to affirm the principle of this motion they would go to the extent of deciding that in every case there should be compensation where there and b"en an erroneous conviction. This was a subject that required great consideration, and was too important to be settled by the circumstances of a particular case. With regard to compensation that was another matter, and as Mr. Bewicke said property worth £1,500 was sold for £4OO, he would not object to an inquiry into the subjeet. (Hear, hear.) Lord J. MANNERS supported the motiol, and con demned the line of argument adopted by the Some Secre tary. After a few words from Mr. INGHAM and 11r. LIDDELL, The ATTORNEY-GENERAL objected to the motion, that it would create a very inconvenient precedent, and said that Mr. Bewicke had been unfortunate in emitting to re tain either attorney or counsel to defend hits on his trial. Mr. G. HARDY intimated that if the Government would consent to a committee of inquiry he wculti support then iu resisting the motion ; but he thought the terms of re ference ought to be general, and include the whole of the allegations in Mr. Bewicke's petition. Mr. DISRAELI characterised the case as one of infa mous oppression, contended that the arguments of the Home Secretary were inconsistent, urged that the ease must be decided upon its merits, and advised Mr. Berkeley to stand by his motion. The house then divided, and the numbers were— For going into committee of supply 118 Against it Majority against Government .. -2 The result was hailed with vehement cheering, and a great number of members immediately left the house. Sir G. GREY then moved as an amendment that a select committee be appointed to consider the petition of Mr. Bewicke, and to report its opinion as to whether he was en titled to any and what compensation. Mr. DISRAELI regarded this proposition as intended so rescind the vote which the house had just come to. Mr. BERKELEY declined acceding to the amendment, which, he agreed with Mr. Disraeli, was an endeavour to upset the vote. Mr. HORS MAN also complained that the amendment had taken the house by surprise, and blamed the Govern ment for pursuing an unusual and unparliamentary course; but Sir G. OREY denied that his motion was unparlia mentary, The house again divided, and the amendment for appoint ing a select committee was carried by 14S to 100. CHIMNEY CLIMBING BOYS. Mr. D. SEYMOUR directed attention to the extensive employment of climbing boys in sweeping chimneys, and the systematic violation of the Act for the Regulation of Chimney Sweepers and Chimneys, and inquired whether the Government intended to bring in any bill during the present session founded on the recommendations of the children's employment commission. Sir G GREY admitted that the report of the commis sioners fully justified the statement that the law was exten sively violated. The attention of Government had been directed especially to that portion of the report which re lated to climbing boys, and they intended rendering their assistance to Lord Shaftesbury in passing the measure of which he had given notice. Among the other questions discussed on the motion that the Speaker should leave the chair, were the Retiring Pen sions of Colonial Governors, the Museum for Inventions, and the Patent Office. PRIVILEGE. Mr. B. OSBORNE—Sir, I protest against the chair being taken in this way. It is a breach of common cour tesy; my hon friend the member for Buckingham (Sir H. Verney) got up to address the Speaker. In all the course of my parliamentary experience I never saw this done. I put to the house it this can be permitted. It appears to me that we are to be treated like the Conference, and be ad journed sine die. (Laughter.) I move that the chairman report progress and ask leave to sit again. Sir G. GREY—I think that any observation of this kind ought to be limade when the Speaker is in the chair. Mr. B. OSBORINE—Why, the Speaker ran away I (Laughter.) Sir G. GREY—I heard the Speaker put the question. The motion - which the hon. member has made I had already made, for I had moved that you report progress and ask leave to sit again. Sir H. VERNEY—As soon as the last speaker bad finished his address I rose, and before the Speaker loft the chair I got up and addressed him. Mr. AYRTON—I think it very inconvenient to report progress ; the proceedings which have taken place must be reversed. (Hear, hear.) There is no doubt that the hon. baronet was on his legs when the question was put. Sir G. GREY—The proceedings cannot be reversed. The course will be for tho hon. member now in the chair to leave the chair. Mr. AYRTON.—I beg your pardon; we can request the Speaker to return, Lord R. MONTAGU said ho could answer for it that the Speaker had put the question and said the "Ayes have it ;" and when the question was put the hon. baronet rose. The CHAIRMAN then left the chair to report progress, and the house resumed. On the return of the Speaker, Sir H. VERNEY—Sir, I move the adjournment of the house. The SPEAKER—The hon. baronet can address the hours on a question of order, but I do not think ho can move the adjournment. Sir H. VERNEY—Sir, I wish to address you on a point of order. I beg to state that the name of a member (Mr. Black) was on the paper before mine. I waited, expecting his name to be called. I thought I had risen to address you before you left the chair. If you say I had not I bow to your decision, but I hope that I may be allowed to pro ceed with my motion. Mr. B. OSBORNE—I second the motion for adjourn ment. (Order, orJce.) I maintain that this is a question affecting the privileges of this house; and, without making any pointed allusion to you, I must say that I did not hear you, sir, put the question. A noble lord on the other side (Lord R. Montagu) said he did hear it ; but he was sitting in close proximity to the chair. I was not favoured with that private and confidential communication. (Laughter.) My hon. friend below me rose before you left the chair. (No, no.) We on this bench are gifted with eyes and ears —(laughter)—as well as the more favoured inhabitants of that lower region—(taughter)—and I say the hon. member rose before you left the chair. If you put the question it was put so indistinctly that no member on this bench heard it; but I maintain it, contrary to the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, that we did not hear the question. I cannot help thinking that independent members are hardly treated, and in their name I protest against this sharp practice. (Oh, oh.) Mr. HUMBER STONE—It so happened that when the question was put I was standing behind the chair of the Sergeant at Arms ; and it seemed to me that that gentle man rose to advance towards the table before the hon. baronet rose from his seat, Sir G. GREY—There has been some misapprehension. My hon. friend the member for Buckingham (Sir H. Ver ney) said that ho waited till the aame of Mr. Black should be called upon, Mr. Black was not called upon; but my hon. friend expected him to be called; but it was not ne• cessary that he should be called. The Speaker had left the chair before the hon. baronet rose. I heard the ques tion put, and the hon, baronet did not rise because he was under the misapprehension that Mr. Black would be called. I think that no blame whatever can be attributed to the Speaker. Mr. CARNEGIE—I was farther off than the hon. member for Liskeard ; and though I don't deny that the hon. member has eyes and ears I also claim the privilege to have eyes and ears, and I heard you put the question before the hon. member rose. Mr DILLWYN—As it is a matter of evidence in some respect, I may give the evidence of my senses. I was sitting here very near my hon. friend the member for Liskeard, and I did not hear the question. I heard some words uttered, but not the question. Mr AYRTON said he had heard the question put, but he did not hear it carried. He heard the a) es but not the nous. Mr W. MARTIN said he had distinctly heard both the aye and the no. Lord R. MONTAG U—l heard the question, and if those hon. gentleman opposite did not hear it, perhaps that is due to the somniferous state into which they had been brought by the speeches which had been previously made. (Hear.) The SPEAKER—I am sorry that there should have been any misunderstanding or misapprehension on the part of any member. I cannot for a moment admit that there was any thing in the course I pursued which was not strictly in accordance with the existing rules of the house. I was in no hurry when I rose to put the question that I do now leave the chair. No gentleman rose—and 1 now under stand why the right hon. baronet the member for Bucking ham did not rise ; because he thought I should call on the gentleman who stood before him. If an hon. member wishes to move an amendment it is for him to rise. I therefore put the question that I do now leave the chair, and as nobody rose thereon I put the usual form—" those who are of that opinion say aye ;' of the contrary opinion, say no ,' the ayes have it " I then turned and saw that the hon. member for Buckingham had risen in his place. It is perfectly true that he rose and was standing in his place before I left the chair, but not before I had put the question. That is the exact state of the case as far as it happened on my part. I regret that any member who was paying atten tion to the business has arrived at a different conclusion. Nir KINGLAKE said that ha was sitting close to the hon. baronet the member for Buckingham, and he certainly did not hear the question. The subject then dropped. 'i he orders of the day were disposed of, and the house then adjourned. . Stratford-on-Avon Tercentenary Festival. STRATFORD-ON-AVON, Friday Evening. After the victory, one of the first cares should be to count the cost. It is a trite story that After length of time, the labouring swains, Who turn the turfs of the unhappy plains, Shall rusty piles from the ploughed furrows take, And over empty helmets pass the rake. And now that the Stratford battle against luke warmness, hostility, and local and other jealousies has been fairly won, it is worth while asking how its rank and file have fared. The generalissimos of the forces—the guarantors and committeemen—are proudly wearing the laurels they have so worthily achieved, and may throw the victorious cry, " -- thousand pounds already paid into the bank," in the teeth of their hostile critics and censorious friends. They can bear a good deal of "damning with faint praise" with philosophic equanimity, for they have not the pleasantest of material assurances that they have fought the good fight, and that a substantial guerdon is theirs ? But, as it would have puzzled Cellini himself to devise a medal which should have no reverse, so there is another side to this picture of the festival, whereon it is necessary to briefly descant. The immense physical and mental strain borne by the active promoters of the festival, the plaintive confession—a confession made in no Banting-like spirit of self-glorification, but told as a solemn truth—of one of these gentle men, that he has " lost a stone end a half" during the six months he has been smoothing away the difficulties and combating the obstacles wherewith the te rcen t enar y was b ese t, re p r esents but a small item in the cost of its success. " Larding the lean earth" may no t b e p ar ti cu l ar ly satisfactory, but it has i n i t a smac k of sel f - i mmo l a ti o n and heroic sacrifi ce which, like virtue, should be its own reward. It is the poor camp followers, the sutlers, the men-et-arms, the troopers, and the subalterns , who are n ow exper i enc i ng a ll t h e m i s eries of defeat, without having even tasted the excitement o f war fare. The people who looked for ward to making a year's rent by a week's letting, and who sapiently took the first step in the coveted direction, by frightening away all moderate people by the exor bitauce of their demands; the purveyors of food, who, trooping in trom the neighbouring towns, submitted, like the fag at Eton, to be punished pecuniarily by the owners of houses with a touching faith that they would be able to punish the public in their turn ; the speculators ia sleeping accommo dation, who brought up at heavy prices avery avail- able bed, in their artless eagerness to supply "tired nature's sweet restorer" at festival prices—here are all these ! When Becky Sharp sickened of the vanity and emptiness of life, the three per cents. were the securities wherein her weary soul longs for anchor age; and many worthy people, tired, possibly, of the endlesss discussions as to the authenticity of a pica ture, on the reading of a passage, have sought a solace from the puzzles of critics, and the squabbles of commentators, in the pounds, shillings, and pence to be extorted from the people less practical than themselves. "Drink, weary pilgrim, drink and pay," was the line suggested by Sir Walter Scott to the tavern-keeper who enlarged his house on the strength of the vast number of English tourists who flocked to the scenes described in Marmion ; and " eat, drink, or sleep, weary Shaksperian pil grims, at your pleasure, but above all pay," was in the outset the dominant sentiment here. As a matter of course, this policy has defeated itself, and there have been severe losses and hard hits. Twenty pounds paid for an eating•house for the week, and not twenty shillings taken on the first day; more pounds the 1 it would be safe to quote, paid for a large furnished mansion, and a maxi mum number of four tenants occupying its vasty space ; a deserted tavern spruced up and furnished for the nonce to receive an amount of patron age which will not pay for the hire of the chattels wherein it is sparsely and cheaply decked out ; sleeping-rooms duly contracted for in outlying villages undeviatingly empty and desolate ; such are the returns of killed and wounded which are rapidly coming in. The cnl loquialism " they opened their mouths too wide," expresses the feeling of all but the sufferers them selves, and however proud corporate Stratford has cause to be of the doings of the past week, there is a substratum of bitter disappointment pervading what is foolishly termed " the lower middle class." Leamington, 'Warwick, and Birmingham have each held their quota of visitors, who preferred the dis comfort of a nightly railway ride to paying as ex tensively through the nose as some of their commer cially minded caterers would have wished. As already stated, the actual prices have not been exor bitant, but the error was seen too late, the British public had taken alarm, and the result is heavy iosses, and consequent lamentations and woe. On Monday next Bottom the weaver, Snug the joiner, Flute the bellows-mender, Starveling the tailor, and Snout the tinker, are to hold their festival, and in a grand street pageant will give the managers of the Tercentenary a practical lesson as to how matters should be arranged "to do good to the town." The " black country" will, these ardent and d'sinterested Shaksperians argue, furnish forth a more "paying band" of pilgrims than the people who have filled the Pavilion, and as the popular entertainments provided by the committee are well arranged, as the prices of admission range from one shilling to three, and as they are placed under the able super= intendence and control of Mr. Creswick, it is very possible that, as far as mere numbers are concerned, the town will have an even larger tribute during the next three days than it has enjoyed since the commencement of the festival. Although the attendance at the Pavilion last night was not quite so large as on the preceding one, the room was well filled, and contained more well-known London faces than at any former time. "As You Like It" was the only piece played, and Mrs, Hermann Vezin in Rosalind was so witty, graceful, and arch, as to compel many an old playgoer to compare her, not un favourably, with Mrs. Nisbett. It was whispered that this was the character selected by Mrs. H, Vezin on her first appearance on the stage, and it would be difficult to name one more peculiarly adapted to her powers. Should there have any critic present who has at times thought her harsh or stagy, he must have recanted his opinion on hear ing her Rosalind last night. Mr. Creswick in Jaques, was sonorous, impressive, and discriminat ing, the " all the world's a stage" gaining more than its customary applause ; Mr. Compton as Touchstone was as purely Shaksperian and quaintly humorous as oerly Mr. Compton knows how to be ; while Miss Charlotte Saunders in Audrey, was so uniformly funny, so exactly the country wench whom Shakspere drew, as to be frequently inter rupted by the loud laughter and applause of the house. When Mr. Keeley took up his position in the frcnt row of the stalls, and the in telligence waa buzzed about the room that the veteran comedian was present, it was coupled with many a regret that the state of Mrs Keeley's health had unhappily prevented her appearing in this character as originally arranged, and had the part of Audrey had a less thorough efficient repre sentative than Miss Charlotte Saunders, those regrets would have seriously impaired the enjoyment of the audience. As it was all went well, the clergy, who have been more and more extensively represented at each performance, and who have applauded with such a hearty appreciation of Shakspere's text as would have surely mollified even the stupid fanatics, who are crying aloud in the streets, expressed their approbation as warmly as ever, and it was remarked that the audience of last night, either grown more confident in its own judgment, or heartier through the knowledge that this was the last of the great dramatic nights of the festival, was louder and more demonstrative than at any preceding representation. The well.known epilogue, in uttering which poor Peg Woffington was smitten with the para!ysis from which she slowly died, was given by Mrs. Young amid the breathless silence of the house, was greeted at its close by a loud and continued burst of applause, which lasted long after the curtain fell, and was followed by cries for Rosalind, which were only appeased on Mr. Compton (who with Miss Saunders received a special ovation) coming forward and apologising for Mrs. Charles Young's not Mug able at that moment to come forward to express her thanks. This morning the music--stands for the instru. mentalists of to-night were being rapidly put upon the stage ; the seats in the body of the hall were removed, end the entire aspect of the room was that of a thaatre swept and garnished for a prome nade concert; committee-men were busily confer ring as to tickets and the all-important question of vouchers ; carriages were rapidly driving tq and fro the High-street, stopping at such shops as either vend the materials for saucy dresses, or let on hire the ready-made costumes ; Mr. May, of the Hay market Theatre, was busily ur-anging his multi farious wardrobes, and giving intending masquers their choice between the Touchstone, Amiens, the banished duke of last night, and an endless variety of Shaksperia❑ dresses ; and if premonitory symp toms be worth anything at all, the ball of to-night will be a crowning point to the other successes of the week. When the excellence of the business arrangements of the festival has been proverbial; when the most fastidious and lynx-eyed have failed to detect weak joints in the armour; and when the Earl of Carlisle himself, after alluding to his large experience of public celebrations, took occasion to specially compliment the managers of the Ter centenary upon the admirable nature of the pre. parations made, it is only right to say that to, the untiring efforts of lir. Henry Kingsley. the honorary secretary to the committee, and Mr. J Sharp, his working coadjutor, the visitors to Strat ford have been largely indebted for the complete comfort with which they have been able to enjoy the entertainments provided. In all affairs of such magnitude as this festival it is obvious that upon the shoulders of those entrusted with its adminis trative details rests the power of making or marr ing its success. In all the little difficulties and emergencies inseparable from undertakings of the kind the energy and courtesy of Dr. Kingsley, and the minute and painstaking attention of Mr. Sharp, have been as constant and unwearying as their duties have been herculean and laborious, and it is not too much to say that to their undeviating and consistent devotion to the cause, conjoined with the equally untiring and ever courteous efforts of the Mayor, and the vicar, the Rev. G. Granville, Strat ford is indebted for much of the triumph it is en joying, as well as the repute it has won. Persons in debt may obtain instant protection against impriconmpnt or seizure of their foods, and an entire release from all debts and liaLilities without publicity, by application to Messrs. Marshall, soli° tors of the Court of Bankruptcy, Charges under £5 payable by easy instalments. Offices_ (established 1830), 12, liatton-garden. City branch -6, Moor gate-street, Bank—ADVT. ADVERTISEMENT.]. -Avoid medicines: they always aggra vate chronic complaints, but Du Barry's Delicious Health Restoring Revalenta Arabica Food, which saves fifty times its cost in other remedies, invariably cures them, restoring perfect digestion, strong nerves, sound lungs, healthy liver, pure blood, refreshing sleep, functional regularity, and energy to the most disordered or enfeebled. We extract a few out of 60,000 Cures :—Cure No. 58,216 or the Marchioness de Brehan, Paris, of a liver complaint, wasting away for seven years, debility, with a nervous palpitation all over, bad digestion, constant sleeplessness, the most intolerable nervous agitation, and dreadfully low spirited.—Cure No. 1,771. Lord Stuart de Decies, Lord Lieut. of Waterford, of many years' dyspepsia.—No. 49,832. "Fifty years' indescribable agony from dyspepsia, nervousness, asthma, cough, constipation, flatulency, spasms, sickness, and vomiting.—Maria Jolly." —Cure No. 16,270. Mr. James Roberts, of Frimley, Surrey, of thirty years' diseased lungs, spitting of blood, liver derange • ment, and partial deafness.—Cure No. 47,121. Miss Elizabeth Jacobs, of extreme nervousness, indigestion, gatherings, low spirits, and nervous fancies.—Cure No. 54,816. The Rev. Jas, T. Campbell, Fakenham, Norfolk, "of indigestion and torpi dity or the liver, which had resisted all medical treatment." In tins, 1 lb., 2s. 9d. ; 21b., 4s. 6d ; 51b., 115. ; 121 b., 225. ; t4lb 40s.—Barry 1)u Barry and Co., No. 77, Regent-street, London; also Fortnum and Mason ; and all Grocers and Chemists in every town of the United Kingdom. [AD VERTISEMENT.] —Holloway's Ointment and Pills.— The worst descriptions of ulcers, the most revolting sores, and the intenseet external inflammations, yield before this cooling Ointment, when its effect is augmented by the in ternal administration of Holloway's Pills. In " bad legs," this Ointment has only to applied for a few days before its beneficial influence is seen over those indolent ulcera tions, which no previous treatment could ease, much less cure. Under its application the pains decrease, the almost • bursting skin relaxes, and healthy granulations spring up to displace the old matter, which was horrifying to behold. Holloway's Ointment purifies the blood in the neighbour ing vessels, from which firm and good flesh can alone be formed ; it quickens the absorption of effete substances, and re-establishes soundness.—Sold at Professor Holloway's Establishment, 244, Strand, and by all medicine venddors throughout the civilised world, SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS, TIMES.—It is now about a hundred years since Stanislaus Pcniatowski aseetiu's the throne of Poland. He owed his elevation mainly 1.%2 the Em press Catherine of Russia, With whom he was be lieved to be united by ties more tendef than those of mere political sympathy. It might have beet sip posed that the same Power which placed him on the throne would have lent him aid to maintain himself there; and so ft might have been but for the aggressive and rapacious genies of the King of Prussia. He held out to Austria the allurement of an accession of territory by the par tition of Poland, and, when he had gained over that Court, he arranged, with infinite bargaining and haggling, the share which Russia was to receive in compensation for the abandonment of her friend and ally. The whole thing was managed by the three Powers with a mixture of barefaced injus tice and odious hypocrisy. They seized upon the territories which they had allotted to themselves,and they published a manifesto, in which they repre sented themselves as actuated by justice, benevo lence, and generosity. They poi n t e d t o th e internal dissensions of Poland. They expressed apprehen sions for the welfare of surrounding nations, unless something were done to check them. They were anxious to settle the ancient Constitution of Poland and to establish its national and popular liberties on a solid basis; and, as they foresaw that the har mony and friendship then existing among them might uo! always continue, they insisted on the re cognition of particular claims to various territories which they did not wish to expose to the hazard of future contingencies. Their dignity, they said, and their regard for justice wou:d not permit them to yield beyond a certain point to the dictates of their natural moderation. The essential interest of their Crowns would not permit them to renounce their claims ; and if the King of Poland had any com passion for his people, he would not, by refusing to call a Diet, expose them to violence and injury. The Diet was elected under the bayonets of three invading armies. It surrendered all that was de manded, and the King flung his hat on the floor and told them if no greater territory than that hat covered were left him, he would still be in the eyes of all Europe their lawful but unfortunate King. Such was the first act of that long tragedy which for a hundred years hes exhibited the insolent triumph of might over right, and made Poland the just object of the sympathy, the compassion, and the indignation of every civilised country in the world. These evil deeds let loose a host of the most grievous evils upon Europe. They co-operated with the new philosophy which was sapping the foundations of society and government, and taught mankind to believe that Kings could be as wicked and statesmen as base as the pen of Rousseau or Condorcet could represent them. If the French Revolution shook down the edifice, its pillars were loosened and its foundations undermined by the partition of Poland. The blood and tears of a quarter of a century of war and desolation have not effaced the traces of the partition of Poland from those countries of Europe which were least con cerned in the event. He must be an inattentive observer indeed who does not trace in the events which are now passing before our eyes, if not an exact historical parallel, at any rate a resemblance sufficiently striking to encourage the most gloomy anticipations. Ever since the partition of Poland all Europe has been pretending at least to deplore and condemn it. Nobody justifies it now. In words, at least, it is universally repudiated. The Kings, the Ministers, the Generals, the diplomatists who brought it about are held in universal execration ; and yet we seem likely to see acted before our eyes a repetition of all the most hateful parts of this execrable drama. We have the same injustice and covetousness, veiled under the same specious and honourab:e professions. That which the love of peace and order and the apprehension of territorial disturbance was to the Powers who dismembered Poland the desire of supporting a distressed and kindred nationality is to Prussia and Austria. While lamenting over the wrongs of a people condemned to speak the Danish language and to be severed from their own free and happy fatherland, Prussia is merely regarding her little neighbour with the same feeling as turned the eyes of Ahab towards the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite. Her talk is autorion• y and personal union ; her thoughts are of cities and harbours, of bays and islands. Pretext after pretext has been adopted and thrown aside with cynical recklessness so soots es it has served her turn. The first masquerade was played off under the visor of scrupulous legality. The Getman Confederscy took up arms to vindicate the wrongs undergone by the Duchy of Holstein at the hands of a foreign Prince on whom the dukedom had de scended. Holstein was occupied for the purpose of Federal execution, just as Poland was occupied that the Diet might deliberate freely. Thu pretence nerved its purpose, and was scornfully cast aside. Schleswig must next be seized, end the only ground that could be invented for seining it was the not very specious pretext that a material guarantee was needed that full justice should he done to Holstein, and, as it was begun to be suggested, to Schleswig also. War appeared in its most hideous form, Thousanls of innocent and industrious people wore reduced to misery. To make the whole thing com plete, the Powers who had bound themselves by solemn treaties to respect the title of the reigning monarch—indeed, to whom, like Poniatowski, he rutty be said to be indebted for his throne—brought with them a Pretender, whose claims had been pur. chased for an ample consideration as a preliminary to the treaty establishing the right of the present King of Denmark, to which their signatures were affixed. This Pretender, who dared not remain a day in the country without their patronage and en couragement, his been further assisted by the dis missal of the officials established by the lawful and has been suffered to enter into relations with the people of the Duchies utterly inconsistent with the attitude of neutrality implied in the idea of a Federal execution in one Duchy and the seiz ing on a pledge or material guarantee in the other. The Danish army, like the Poles, has offered a brave but an unavailing resistance, but the effusion of blood could not be stayed, because Prus sia felt it her duty to distinguish herself in war, and had gained one of those happy opportunities where a small nation, being piqued on the point of honour, must fight, even though defeat to itself, and consequently victory to its antagonist, be absolutely certain. It may be doubted whether even this pros fession was sincere, and whether the pretence or a desire to acquire cheap and inglorious laurels did not hide the wish to place Denmark absolutely at the mercy of the invaders, and thus to remove the only obstacle to territorial aggrandizement. The obstinacy of the Danish Government has been a most powerful auxiliary to the covetousness of its invaders. It has fought just enough to give them the excuse they needed, and not enough to throw any serious obstacle in the way of their progress. It is not, indeed, as it was a hundred years ago, when such things could be done by the strong against the weak without any serious protest or remonstrance. The Powers involved in this course of double-dealing must give an account of their acts before an European Conference. Opinion has been able, so far at least, to assert its claim to be heard, even amid the promptings of ambition and the ela tion of success. But here, we greatly fear, its triumphs are destined to end. Austria, though having in the instance of Denmark no direct terri torial acquisition to strive for, is, nevertheless, too fearful of compromising her relations to the smaller Powers of Germany, and toosubservient to Prussia, to sop short in the course of which she is destined to share the discredit without gaining the substan tial advantage. Prussia, with the game almost within her grasp, stimulated by an aristocracy ett:er above al! things to turn the mind of the nation from domestic to foreign policy, and elated by a cheap success, is even less likely to give way ; and France seems inclined, with all the enthusiasm of a convert, to overact the part of a peacemaker, and to neutralize her influence in the hope of extin guishing all distrust of her intentions. We greatly fear the result will be triumph of the men of action over the men of words, the overthrow of the just policy of the Western Powers by the superiority always obtained by those who are ready to appeal to force. POST.—To those who watch with interest the pro ceedings of the Conference (and who does not ?) it may possibly occasion some surprise that obstacles should be raised in limine to the conclusion of an armistice. The ostensible object with which the Danish territories were i❑ the first instance invaded has been attained, and the Prussian troops have covered themselves with what to them at least appears military glory. Schleswig is now, from the Baltic to the German Ocean, in the occupation of the allies, and both on the D3newirke and the redoubts of Duppel sufficient Danish cannon have been taken to suffice for the construction of a grand military trophy to commemorate to the most distant posterity the prowess of the German arms. The head-quarters of the Danish army have quitted Alsen, and probably' within a few days that little appurtenance of Schie,wig will share the fate of that Duchy. Germany has now all she demanded, cud, so far as wa have the means of judging, all which she desires, and yet still we receive daily ina telligence of the onward march of Austrian and Prussian legions into the province of Tutlard, and still the appeals made by the great neutral Powers in the cause of peace fall upon deaf ears. It was announced, and with truth, that when the Confer ence met an armistice would be proposed by the Engiish plenipotentiaries. That proposal was sup ported by the representatives of the neutral Powers, but was coupled with conditions which the German representatives professed themselves unable, with. out instructioes, either to refuse or to accept. The -German Dthaant m e t a w the i Germanear has been possessed t o this overwhelm peculiar ing preponcleranee in respect to land forces, the Danes had an almost exclusive command o O r. sea. The only use, however, to which Denma 5 - has been enabled to turn her naval superiority be: a "wash: ;,,en to blockade the German ports, which, 2however injurious to at 2 enem y 's "Laraer t c e; is rather of a negative than a Powerlese at sea, the German Powers are said have made it a necessary condition of the "IP b e talon of hostilities that the blockade should e raised and their commerce relieved fromtit.b I,,ositive chars.c serious restrictions at present imposed I.'pef l .. inn Under ordinary circumstances such a cot. elf".,_ might seem reasonable, but that in the presen..• stance it is not so must appear on a little reflect' on The German Powers have second posseasior; of Duchies, and if an armistice were agreed up ol ' companied by a suspension of the existing bloc the aggressive Powers would have no motive bringing the proceedings of the Conference t e to speedy close. They could loae nothing, whet on they might gain much by delay. An arraistio _a the basis of the military uti possidetis would 851.7;5 them every facility for revolutionising the Doeb.l,, and effecting such changes as would render it possible for the signitaries of the Treaty of Loo& P a to require that they should subsequently be reste r i e jo to Denmark. Against such a contingency. in Danish Government are bound to provide, ao°' c ,l desiring to reserve the maintenance r,f the right ° ia blockade, they simply wish not so much to rett"o, the means of injuring Germany, as to furnish ah ducement to the German Powers to bring rasa tit to a speedy conclusion. Germany has throtiglici°ot assumed so high a tone that we are not surpr i6e t o the disdainful manner in which the official purl , , in Vienna and Berlin have treated a sugg eet t which at the Conference received the support of to 6, neutral Powers. But, after all, an armistice in 6°113 % .„ shape or other is only a matter of time ; and, ha. ever desirous the Germans might be of prosecatir'''' hostilities, their possible sphere is so extreme!) . Iv. stricted that it would soon become physically ire' possible for them to find fresh territory to inva d b e. , Jutland is almost entirely defenceless, and might occupied in the course of a few days. One of tln‘ latest telegrams informs us that the General 1„ command of the Danish forces in that province tr' t , retreated without accepting battle; nor is 0)1 astonishing. considering the relative proporl iee., " of the German and Danish armies. If the war co n e tinned, Fredericia would undoubtedly share tu fate of Duppel, and Funen, together with Al se9 ,; would pass into German hands. It is ther eie 't impossible, however the question is regarded, t", the Dano-German war can be of long continutoore' and, such being the case, there is the greater p t° l bability that the preliminary difficulties raised ‘ A the Conference will be speedily cleared away' suspension of hostilities will, however, be only Prof fatory to the discharge of the proper functions the Conference. Matters have unfortunately now '- rived at that pass that Denmark is powerless give effect to any dissent to which she might thin"' it consistent with her dignity to give e epressie v i . Her fate depends exclusively upon the petit° Powers, and on them she will be compelled to rely If they should assent to a proposal for her disinter disinter gratioo, nought would remain for her but to Wi mit. She might retire from the Conference, hu t . the withdrawal of her plenipotentiaries would b avert her destiny. It may be, however, that h e. very helplessness will be to her a source of streng t 'd The representativesof the Western Powers are w e n aware that there is something more at stake th, fl „ - the form of administration thenceforth to be 0 '; blished in two obscure Duchies in Northern EureP'S The true nature of the issue was candidly a vow e , by the Prussian Prime Minister in December l a % in a conversation with Lord Wodehouse, It is contest between despotic and liberal instituti"s; between constitutional government and that spec' e ', of rule to which enlightened Austria and Pra Bl ; are willing to submit. " Peace," said Count J 3- a" mark, " will never subsist between Germany 55 Denmark so long es the latter encourages demo rB. tic institutions." It will certainly be establishiq a strange precedent if the Western Powers shoa l ' by endorsing the demands of the German Stet Eh countenance aggression based upon such a in." : ,,; cation. We now dismiss from consideration t'f claims which Denmark has to the p ro t e ction f n France end England, and throw out of account serious disturbance to the balance of power Europe which would be effected by the trunstna t " ; . Lion of Germany into a naval Power. When, 1 0 ; ever, these considerations are also borne in ati",.' it is impossible to avoid feeling that howe vc ' great may be the straits to which Denmark driven, her interests will be carefully ploteete e f at a Conference to which the representatives if , France and Great Britain have admission. 5 e ;o . interest furnishes the strongest of all motives human action, and it may be a source of satisfaol ie ,[. to Denmark to know that, feeble though she is, t i "; force of circumstances has made her cause equal ly that of the two most powerful maritime Power° ;'- the world. COUNTRY MARKETS. - LIVERPOOL—FRIDAY. There was a Letter attendance of the town and countl trude to-day, and wheat met a good consumptive de 130 .1',. at about 2d per cental dearer. Flour sells more read lJ ; but prices as before. Indian corn met an improved be 0," quiry, and we quote 3d on the week. Oats Id per bue and oatmeal 3d to 6cl per load against buyers. 1 30136 peas, and bailey all tending in the same direction. LINCOLN—FRIDAY. White wheat new, 33s to 42e Barley, grinding.. 27s to 0 1 Red do. 36s to 39s Oats, old, .. 4 2 1 ,0 4 sss tt t 0 00 42 2 :,,, i Old white —s to —s New.do Red do.. —s to —s Beans. Barley, malting....33s to 35s f Beans, new 345 to 36/ WAKEFIELD—FRIDAY. The wheat trade was firm, and the sales made N vere,,. rather over last Friday's quotations. Beans fully AS d e ' In other articles there was no material change. Averages for the weep : Wheat '67B qrs., at 39s 21G1 Rye — .. —s Od 8ar1ey......... ,787 ^ Beans 5l .. 333 7u Peas .... 80 Oats . 104 STAMFORD - FRIDAY. White wheat, 39s to 425; red, 388 to 40s per 36 stem ßarley, malting, 33s to 356; grinding, 29s to 3 2 s per (1,„" Oats, 18s to 22s per 24 stone. Beans, old, 40s to —8 Pr" qr. ; new, 34s to 365. The following were the quotations this morning gis wheat, 8s Od to 8s 10d; white, 8s Od to Os 8d , barley' ld to Os Od ; oats, 5s 8d to 6s 4d ; black do., 5$ 3d 53 6d. C ORK-THURSDAY, BRISTOL SUGAR—FRIDAY. ^ There has been a quiet trade doing, and notwithstO r (l ing importers are willing to sell at fully 6d per cwt. I.)sr e S buyers will not purchase. Refined goods is deoline, 513 difficult to sell. In rum no sales to report. COAL M Melee of Coal per Ton al the clOse of the market. dI A. Walls End. Heugh Hall 17 9 South Kelloe .. l/ 6 gaswell S South Hetton . .1 5 Caradoc lB Caw') l7 6 Hartlepool Braddyll's Raton ..... 17 , Tunstall Riddell 9 Framwellgate l6 6 East Hartlepool 18 9 K elloe it, 120 ; sold, 83 . ...... 17 _ s. d. Eden Main .....17 3 Buddlo'sWest Hartley 17 3 Hastings Hartley ....17 3 North Pelton Ga 5..... 12 9 Cowpen Ilartley 17 8 Byass's Bebside West __ _ Hartley ...17 3 Walker Primrose 12 6 Wylam 17 6 Gawber Hall (hard).. 16 0 Births. Walls End. Het ton lB 6 Harton 16 9 Ships at Luarkei --- BARRY.—On the 27th Inst., at 7, Clarendon-road, Putnel 4 the wife of C. Ainslie Barry, Esq., of a daughter• iv . GIRDNER.-0a the 28th inst., at Stamford-hill, Gardner, of a daughter. MICHELL.—On the 2Sth inst., at 32, Cleveland -squ are, W.• the Ledy Frances Michell, of a son. TICKELL.—On the 29th inst., at Rossendale House, Strew' than], the wife of Commander Thomas Tickell, of a eon. Marriages. ARKWRIGIIIT—BRODIFURST—On the 28th inst., at Newarkon Trent, James Charles Arkwright, Esq., son of Pete r Arkwright, Esq., of Willeraley, Derbyshire, to Ma r i Esther, eldest daughter of William Brodhurat, Esq., ° The Friary, Newark. FoituYcE — HAY.—On the 25th inst., at Chrisicbure ll t narrow , on -th e •Hill, Colonel Charles Francis Fordyce' C 8., to M ary H eron M axwe ll , f ourt h d aug h ter of the late Sir James Dalrymple H ay, Bart,, of Park-placeWigt Deaths. Fowurt,—On the 27th inst., at 39, Porchcster Hyde-park, Henry Fowler, Esq , formerly of None ) / Prussia, aged 77- GEDDES.—On the 28th inst., at Edinburgh, Lieutenan t ' Jchn Geddes, Colonel of H.M.'s 2 7 t h (Innis' killing) Regt. -square/ HyArr.—On the 27th inst., at 11, Belle Vue, Clifton, the Rev. Joseph Hyatt, aged 68, KEY.—On the 29th inst., Joseph Key, Esq., of Upper Phillimore-place, Kensington. MACKINTOSH.—On the 25th inst., at Hyde-park-terrace, Kensington-gore, Robert James Mackintosh, Eel., non of the late Right Hon. Sir James Mackintosh. STANBROUOH.—On the 28th inst., at Islewortl? , Walter Stanbrough, E,q., of H,M.'s War Office, aged ,J 9. London: Prinz,d and Prbiished b; IV'LLIA. II AN DE E ; VS. of No. 112, Strand, Printer, at Inn SON Office No, 11 2 , Strand, , n the Precinct of the Savoy, n the Coup of 2111 iii tev.ex —Saturday, A T r ii 3(:), 1884.